SW-INC-0041SeaWise Incidents

Greylag - Collision between ro-ro passenger ferry Red Falcon and moored yacht Greylag

A fog-bound ferry lost its bearings and sank a yacht on its mooring in Cowes.

verified · 3 sourcesON2
Vessel
GreylagSailing yacht
When
2018Atlantic
Outcome
Sunk
Position
Cowes Harbour, Isle of Wight, England
Sea area
The Solent
Coordinates
50.76°N, -1.30°WApproximate position
Summary

What happened.

In thick fog on 21 October 2018 the ro-ro ferry Red Falcon lost orientation in Cowes Harbour, left the channel and spun through 220°. Disorientated, her master drove the ferry the wrong way and collided with the moored yacht Greylag, sinking it on its mooring. The MAIB found the master became fixated on his electronic chart and cognitively overloaded, and that the risk to people sleeping aboard moored yachts had not been adequately managed.

At 0811 on 21 October 2018 the ro-ro passenger ferry Red Falcon was navigating Cowes Harbour in severely reduced visibility when she swung out of control, left the channel and spun through 220°. Disorientated and under high stress, her master drove the ferry the wrong way and collided with the yacht Greylag, lying on its mooring, sinking it. The MAIB found the master had become fixated on his electronic chart and engine controls, ignored other equipment, and was cognitively overloaded, while the bridge team had disengaged for lack of clear communication and emergency training. It also found the hazard to people sleeping aboard moored yachts had not been adequately addressed in risk assessments. Recommendations went to Red Funnel on ship-handling and orientation, and to the harbour authorities on assessing the risk to moored yachts.

Lessons learned

What it teaches.

  • 1
    A boat on a mooring is not automatically a safe boat. In poor visibility or busy fairways, vessels can lose control and strike you where you lie.
    collision
  • 2
    Do not fixate on one instrument. The ferry master locked onto his chart plotter, ignored other displays, and became overloaded and disoriented.
  • 3
    If you sleep aboard in a commercial harbour, weigh the risk. Harbours should mitigate it, but you bear the consequences.
Sources

Where this comes from.

Official report· MAIB (UK)Collision between ro-ro passenger ferry Red Falcon and moored yacht GreylagVisit ↗News· Marine Industry NewsAccident report into Red Funnel grounding and sinking of yacht releasedVisit ↗News· Island EchoACCIDENT REPORT INTO RED FUNNEL GROUNDING AND SINKING OF YACHT RELEASEDVisit ↗

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Record IDSW-INC-0041
Curated bySeaWise editorial
Confidenceverified · 3 sources
Record typeIncident

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